A suicide attacker has blown himself up next to a police truck that was bringing a local official to work in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, killing five children nearby. A roadside blast followed soon after the first explosion.

The apparent target of the attack, the Dand district's governor, was unhurt.

The suicide attack was followed by the detonation of a roadside bomb nearby after police arrived. The second explosion injured two policemen and one of the governor's bodyguards.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

But police say the blasts fit a pattern of recent Taliban attacks targeting government officials in southern Afghanistan.

In recent months, targeted assassinations have become increasingly common in Kandahar Province.

In the Dand district alone, at least nine members of the governing council have been killed.